SAN FRANCISCO – Buster Posey's manager and his agent want baseball to look at changing the rules to protect catchers in home-plate collisions.

That sounds well intentioned, but at least two current catchers who have taken the brunt of those hits are not sure it's necessary.

In the aftermath of the brutal Wednesday night crash with Florida Marlins baserunner Scott Cousins that left Posey with a broken left leg and torn ankle ligaments, the San Francisco Giants felt emotional and vulnerable.

The franchise catcher and cleanup hitter probably won't play again this season, but the Giants haven't ruled out the possibility of a late-season return. Posey is expected to undergo surgery on his ankle after additional consultation with doctors, trainer Dave Groeschner said. In the meantime, an already feeble offense has been further weakened, as was clear when Anibal Sanchez held the Giants to five hits Thursday in a 1-0 win that completed the Marlins' three-game sweep.

"It felt like a morgue in here when you walked in here today,'' Aubrey Huff said. "Losing a player like Buster is always tough, not only his bat but his presence.''

Giants manager Bruce Bochy echoed the sentiments also expressed by Posey's agent, Jeff Berry, in saying the game suffers when a young star of this magnitude goes down, and they both called on MLB to find ways to make catchers less susceptible during collisions.

Exactly how?

"You could say, if there's a lane there you have to go for home plate,'' Bochy said. "If there's no place to go, sure, you can run into the catcher. I don't know. I'm just saying we might need to consider something to protect these guys, because (runners) are getting bigger and faster and they're hitting these guys when they're not really prepared to get hit.''

Players who have been on the receiving end, though, largely accept it as part of the game.

Marlins catcher John Buck, an eight-year veteran who has been involved in more collisions than he can remember, said there's not practical way to legislate them out of the game.

Buck said the issue is suddenly gaining attention because it involves Posey, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year and a key player for the defending champs.

But he believes Cousins' play was clean – a feeling largely supported around the ballpark, although Bochy didn't think the collision was necessary – and said physical abuse comes with the territory for catchers.

"You're just vulnerable,'' Buck said. "They say we wear the tools of ignorance, and there's a lot of ignorant things that go on with our position. You can just chalk that up one as one more.''

Eli Whiteside, who took over as the starter in Posey's stead, said he sustained a badly sprained ankle and a concussion that affected him for two weeks in separate home-plate collisions while in the minors. It didn't make him ponder switching positions, nor does he expect baseball, a game steeped in tradition, to alter the rules.

"I love the position. You're in every pitch. I like calling the game,'' Whiteside said. "Going into it, you kind of know what to expect. You're going to get beat up a little bit and that's part of the position, part of the game.''

The Giants called up Chris Stewart from Class AAA Fresno to back up Whiteside, who will do the bulk of the catching. Whiteside has received favorable reviews for his work behind the plate but is not close to Posey's equal as a hitter.

Bochy said the rest of the lineup, averaging less than 3.5 runs a game, needs to come around.

"We've got guys who have not clicked yet and that's going to be a big part of it,'' Bochy said. "These guys are going to have to turn it up for us to soften the blow of losing a Buster Posey.''

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